Mississauga Company Facing Huge Fine After Worker Dies on Site

A Mississauga company has been ordered to pay a substantial fine following the death of a worker.

The Ministry of Labour recently announced that a numbered company (2132857 Ontario Ltd.) that specializes in cleaning drains and catch basins using hydro-vacuum trucks, has been fined $85,000 after a high-pressure device killed a worker on Aug. 26, 2017.

The incident occurred at 3333 Unity Drive.

The ministry says a worker lost control of a high-pressure water jetting system and was killed after being hit by the water jet.

According to the province, the incident occurred when the company was hired to clean the catch basins of the Unity Drive property

The victim, who was an experienced operator, was assisted by a helper while they cleaned a number of drains in the property’s east parking lot.

The ministry says the worker was operating a hand-held remote as well as the wand. At one point the worker held the flexible part of the hose in order to allow the wand to get into the deeper areas of the drain. Around that time, the worker lost control of the high-pressure water jetting system and dropped the hose, which flung around.

The worker was hit by the water jet in the neck and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The helper was also hit by the jet and sustained minor injuries.

The province says the company did not take appropriate measures to ensure an operator-controlled trigger—which could have stopped the waterflow and prevented the accident—was used.

"Although the company purchased and made available operator-controlled triggers for its vehicles where requested by operators, there was no policy or instruction requiring workers to use the operator-controlled trigger attachment. Industry guidelines recommend the use of an operator-controlled trigger on the wands of high-pressure water jetting systems due to the hazards associated with uncontrolled water jets," the ministry says.